Five Reasons to Use Essential Oils in the Workplace

You've probably heard the buzz about essential oils lately. There's good reason for the buzz. They work.

Essential oils, especially uplifting citrus oils, are getting more and more traction in the workplace.

There is research to back up the effectiveness of the use of oils in the workplace (see below).

Luminate Wellness believes in a holistic approach to wellness. There are many approaches to creating a positive environment, and a culture of wellness in the workplace. Approaches such as a strength-based focus, attention to employee's mental health, connection and communication all make an impact. Collectively creating a powerfully positive/synergistic environment.

Many workplaces are using oils to create positivity. It's hard to not smile when you smell orange in the air, right?

First of all, what is an essential oil?

When you step outside in the spring and breathe in the strong aroma of nature, or smell the peel a fresh juicy orange–you are smelling the essential oil of the plants.

Essential oils are naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds. They are found in the peels, seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants.

The oils are powerful. Both in their fragrance. and in the affect they have make on our health. Essential oils provide plant with protective qualities and play a role in plant pollination. The oils are collected through either steam distillation or cold press distillation. They are highly concentrated and powerful–one drop of peppermint oil is equivalent to 28 cups of peppermint tea.

There is a long history of the use of essential oil use with humans. Today they are used in skin care preparations, health care practices, food and beauty preparations.

Essential oils can be used:

Topically - in creams or diluted in a carrier oil (such as fractionated coconut oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, or olive oil)applied to different parts of the body–such as the bottom of the feet.

Internally (only high quality, therapeutic grade essential oils) - a drop of lemon in your water is delicious!

Here is some news coverage about the Vanderbuilt Hospital study.

Five reasons to diffuse essential oils in the workplace:

1. Calm frazzled emotions.

A day where everyone is uptight, deadlines are looming, and clients are struggling. AND on top of all that, you get news that someone else needs something else from you–yesterday... Diffuse Calming oils (they can be blended) such as: cedarwood, Serenity (a doTERRA blend), Peace (a doTERRA blend), lavender, vetiver, bergamot or sandalwood.

2. Stimulate feelings of positivity, and work productivity.

When you can feel some negative energy, or people are feeling the weight of some challenges happening at work, this is a great time to diffuse citrus oils. It's hard to not feel a lift when we smell the sweet smell of orange peel. Diffuse: wild orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, Citrus Bliss (a doTERRA blend that smells like a creamcicle), or Cheer (doTERRA blend). Cardamom supports openness and mental clarity.

For focus and concentration, I like vetiver and bergamot. Cedarwood and lavender promote a calmness, and can therefore encourage focus. In Tune, (doTERRA blend) also promotes focus.

3. Fight airborne germs.

Those days when you look over and your workmate is coughing into his hand and you cringe as you open the door to the fridge. Or you have a little tickle in your throat and you feel like you are fighting something. Science is telling us that clove is a very powerful anti-oxidant. On Guard is a doTERRA blend with clove, wild orange cinnamon, eucalyptus and rosemary. There have been many research studies done around the effectiveness of essential oils available on Pub Med. This one is about On Guard.

Also oregano and tea tree oils are powerful agents at killing bacteria. Diffusing a blend of On Guard, lemon will support immune function. Also having a spray bottle with these oils with a bit of tea tree, oregano and water, is great for cleaning door handles, and light switches.

As someone who often leads all day workshops, I know about about that lull that happens right after lunch, especially if we've had a carb-rich lunch. I often pass out a drop of peppermint and and a drop of wild orange into each person's palm. Rub hands together and breathe in the invigorating smell, then rub on the back of the neck. I'm telling you, that is better than any cup of coffee.

You're in the middle of a long meeting, and people's eyes are drooping shut...try this. It works wonders.

5. Get rid of unwanted scents (like the lovely smell that lingers after someone heats up their leftover salmon...).

You know what I'm talking about...those gross smells that come with office life. If not leftover lunches, than it's paint fumes, new carpet smells or something like that. Yuck.

AND every office bathroom is usually equipped with air fresheners...right? There's more and more information available to us about the toxicity of air fresheners and fragrances. Put a few drops of On Guard, lavender and water in a glass bottle and there you have a fantastic, really effective, non-toxic air freshener.

Purify blend is created with a handful of fantastic oils that both smell delicious (citrus and woodsy oils) and also have air purification properties (tea tree, citronella and cilantro). This would also be a great oil to add to an air freshener!

For a positive scent diffusing any oil or combination of oils is fantastic. It's hard to go wrong. I personally love citrus oils, spearmint, vetiver or earthy oils. At Christmas I love a combination of cinnamon, cypress and clove. Yum! It really supports a fun, festive environment.

Please note: Not all essential oils are created equal.

Drug store and health food store oils almost always have extra additives in them. If it's really cheap, it's cheap for a reason (it takes 30 pounds of lavender plant to make a 15ml bottle of essential oil. If we are paying fair market price for a pure product, we should be paying more than $15 a bottle).

Look for therapeutic grade oils that can even be ingested (a couple drops of lemon in your water is delicious). Luminate Wellness uses and sells doTERRA brand essential oils. They are high quality oils, tested multiple times by third party scientists. The company also supports the global economy, providing clean water to farmers in Nepal (where wintergreen is sourced). The company has also provided close to 7000 fair jobs to the people in Haiti.

If you are interested in more information about how essential oils can enhance wellness in your workplace (or home), contact Jenn. Luminate Wellness provides education and support around the integration of essential oils into your wellness journey.

You want to try this out, but how? If you are located in the Fraser Valley area, we have a diffuser and some oils available for borrowing to try out for a few days or a week. It's all about the smell, and until computers have a smell component, reading about oils on the internet just doesn't cut it.

If you live outside the Fraser Valley, send an email and we can send you a few samples via snail mail.